A trend? Pre-cut locks...

I have been out of this for a few years but I am seeing lockers with the locks cut off long before the auction.

When asking the auctioneers about this they say the locks are removed when they are there, a photo is taken and the door is shut and re-locked with a new lock, and sealed with a tamper tag.

Everyone but me got burned (I paid for what I saw and found NOTHING else) All the goodies where empty boxes and the junk was buried.


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Pre-cut locks are the norm here in TN. I've been to dozens of auctions and only one time did they cut the owners lock off at the auction. The 8 units I have won did not give me any reason to think they had been tampered with or I would not have found the items I did. If the locker owner shows up with the rent just before the auction and items are missing there will be some splainin to do. I saw an auction stopped in the middle of bidding because owner showed up and paid.

Only been to two auctions this past week same auction company. All locks precut. Only saw two units that were questionable, but they were abandoned.. Looked like everything was pushed to the front and not full in the back. One was a 10x20 but you could only see first 5 feet it went for $ 800. But then there was another abandoned unit totally untouched 2 inches of dust.  Could be the manager knew the person with the abandoned unit and let them get their stuff and said stack everything to the front. Made note of which facility had the possible staged lockers. Don't think it was the auction company.
To new to be able to find out if they where bad.. I think a noobie got it.

All the auctions I have been to here have per cut locks. There is the red storage company's lock and a tamper tag.

Of the four auctions I went to this week two had pre-cut locks (auction house #2) and two did not (auction house #1). I said something the auctioneer from AH #2 about the pre-cut lock and how I won't bid on them because the contents cannot be guarantied undisturbed. I also pointed out that the lackluster bidding he was getting could be due to this very reason since others in the crowd were quietly making the same complaint to each other. He told me it was done for convenience to speed up the auctions and that he knows that they cut the locks off the morning of the auction. I didn't really want to get into a pissing contest with him, but he wasn't getting the point. That is, if we as bidders cannot feel comfortable with the unit, we're not going to bid on it.

The units for AH #1 were no different but they went for 2-3 times as much, simply because the locks were cut off in front of the bidders.

You have to realize that the storage company wants the locker empty, the auctioneer wants his cut of money. 

Given that, do you know just how much trouble they can be in if they get caught doing this?  The state would likely pull his auctioneer license.  The state would also shut down the storage facility if they got caught rummaging through someones locker.  Even though there is rent owed, that doesn't give them carte blanche access to take what they want.  Thats the point of the auction.

I would prefer they cut the locks, it speeds things up and if folks bidding think that the locker doesn't have anything good because of a cut lock, then Im fine with that.  I'll just get it for cheaper.

You have to realize that the storage company wants the locker empty, the auctioneer wants his cut of money. 

Given that, do you know just how much trouble they can be in if they get caught doing this?  The state would likely pull his auctioneer license.  The state would also shut down the storage facility if they got caught rummaging through someones locker.  Even though there is rent owed, that doesn't give them carte blanche access to take what they want.  Thats the point of the auction.

I would prefer they cut the locks, it speeds things up and if folks bidding think that the locker doesn't have anything good because of a cut lock, then Im fine with that.  I'll just get it for cheaper.

Exactly!

Plus as others on here have said before, imagine if the auctioneer or storage facility rummages threw the unit and say takes a watch or ring or something of value and then the owners pays up right before auction, can you say lawsuit!

Exactly!

Plus as others on here have said before, imagine if the auctioneer or storage facility rummages threw the unit and say takes a watch or ring or something of value and then the owners pays up right before auction, can you say lawsuit!

I don't think they remove items. HOWEVER, I do think they stage them.

Exactly!

Plus as others on here have said before, imagine if the auctioneer or storage facility rummages threw the unit and say takes a watch or ring or something of value and then the owners pays up right before auction, can you say lawsuit!

It would be theft to take from a locker before the auction at least in WA. State law requires the contents be auctioned. If there are no bidders at the auction then the managemnt can do what ever they want.  I see the locks all pre cut now they generally cut them the day before to see if there is anything in the locker and to do a inventory for the report.  The inventory just says like furniture boxes bikes whatever they do not go through the unit in detail.  I have seen them fill out the inventory the day of the auction as well. If a unit does not sell they ask peopel to sigh a statement there was no bid.